


Tell the World

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: BixFreed [9]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Possessiveness, Secret Relationship, Secrets, going public
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-20 18:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16561370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Bickslow and Freed's relationship is a secret only know to the rest of their team. Bickslow is ready to shout it to the world, but Freed is more hesitant until he realises it is the only way to stake his claim...but its not that easy for him to get the words out, but thankfully his lover is more than willing to show everyone just what the Rune mage means to him.





	Tell the World

   Bickslow was pretending to be engrossed in the stupid show he was watching on Lacrima vision, but in reality, his attention was focused on the Rune mage currently curled in the armchair in the corner, his head buried in a massive tome that Levy had lent him earlier. Freed looked as though he was thoroughly involved with what he was reading, but the Seith mage had known him long enough to know that even if he was actually reading the words. Which from the way his gaze seemed to have become fixated on one spot about ten minutes ago, not one bit of the information was actually getting through to him. Another tell was the way Freed’s fingers kept curling around the edges of the book, only to be forcefully relaxed a moment later, something which Bickslow had discovered he did when he was debating with himself about something.

   Part of him was tempted to ask what was wrong or to go across and try and distract the Rune mage from whatever thoughts were bothering him. However, he knew from experience that doing that tended to result in him having his hands full of an incredibly grumpy Freed. Which was also an adorable Freed, he thought, struggling to hide his grin and fight the temptation to go and irritate his partner just to get that grumpy face. But that wouldn’t give him answers, and so he forced himself to remain on the bed, his eyes darting between the screen and Freed as he worried his bottom lip. Freed would tell him what was bothering him when he was ready, but that didn’t really make it any easier to lie here waiting for him to sort out his thoughts and his fingers tightened on the duvet, wanting nothing more than to wrap the younger man up in a hug.

   They remained like that for nearly an hour, by which point Bickslow’s self-control which was always shaky at best, especially when worrying about a particular, green-haired mage was at breaking point. And he had long since abandoned all pretence of interest in the shows and if he had been asked he wouldn’t have a clue what was showing now. The first sign of change he got was the soft, defeated sigh that echoed across the room and he immediately focused on the Rune mage, a little abashed to find turquoise eyes waiting for him, and from the small quirk of Freed’s lips, he had been busted long ago. Deciding to make the most of a bad situation he painted the most innocent expression he could muster on his face, before pouting as Freed snorted at his efforts before closing his book and setting it aside, and rising gracefully to his feet.

“Get that expression of your face you idiot,” he ordered, but there was a softness to his eyes as he crossed to the bed, leaning in to give the Seith mage a small kiss. “You’ve never been innocent,” Freed teased when Bickslow grumbled as he pulled back, the kiss to short and gentle for his liking, and he couldn’t deny his lover’s words although that didn’t stop him from pouting up at Freed. The Rune mage laughed at his expression, patting him patronisingly on the head before darting out of reach of the hand that snaked out try and grab him. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he added, blowing the Seith mage a teasing kiss before hurrying for the door, leaving Bickslow staring after him.

   It hadn’t escaped his notice that Freed had avoided saying anything whatsoever about was bothering him, whereas usually, he would have broken the moment he set his book aside, thoughts spilling out in a river before he could change his mind and the Seith mage had no idea what to make of the change. After a moment of hesitation, he climbed off the bed and hurried across to the book, wondering if maybe he had been overthinking things and it was just something to do with the book. However, while he made efforts to pretend to be as book-smart as Freed, from what he could glean from a quick flick through of the book it was nothing more than a text on some archaic language. Sighing he closed it and settled it back in place, wondering yet again how his lover could have the patience to read such dull material. Bookworm, he thought fondly before turning his attention to the rest of the room, searching for some hint of what Freed could have been thinking about, but nothing seemed out of place or unusual.

   They had the house to themselves for the evening as Evergreen had been convinced to go out for a girl’s night with Lucy and some of the others, and Laxus was currently away on a job. They’d spent most of the day in the guild, just hanging out for once as they had just finished a string of jobs and didn’t need to worry about rent for a while and Freed had spent most of the afternoon debating magical theory with Levy, while Bickslow and Gajeel had looked on in consternation. The only difference being that the Iron Dragon-slayer had been free to sit there with his arm wrapped around Levy, although it had been a somewhat dangerous position as she tended to gesticulate wildly when bickering with Freed. He sighed slightly at the memory. It had been so tempting to reach out and hold Freed like that, and if he was honest, he had really wanted to. However, so far the only people that knew about their relationship was Laxus and Evergreen, and probably Mirajane as it seemed to be impossible to hide anything from that woman, and he knew that Freed was still too shy to go public. The Rune mage had always been intensely private, and it had taken a long time for him to open up around Laxus and the Raijinshuu and Bickslow knew that he was scared of their relationship being the centre of attention, and so he hadn’t pushed the issue.

   Hearing movement in the hallway outside, and realise that he probably looked as guilty as hell just standing in the middle of their bedroom, Bickslow dived for the bed. Hastily shifting himself back into his original position, and fixing his gaze on the lacrima, grimacing as he realised that at some point the channel had turned to a cheesy, romantic movie and he struggled to keep his gaze on it as he heard Freed slipping into the room behind him.

“Bickslow…”

“Freed?” The Seith mage felt his mouth go dry as he rolled over to face the Rune mage, only to find Freed standing there in nothing but his shirt, a delicate blush decorating his cheeks as he fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt. Swallowing he reached out blindly to turn off the lacrima, glad that he had banished his dolls earlier when Freed had wanted to read as he really didn’t want them blurting anything out that would ruin this moment. “What…?” He was cut off as Freed moved forward, climbing onto the bed and settling over him, trapping him in place and Bickslow found himself swallowing nervously as he gazed up at the Rune mage, unable to resist reaching up to brush his fingers over pink cheeks and grinning when the blush intensified at the gesture. “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you now?” He asked, and Freed blinked before glancing off to the side, and for a moment he thought the younger man was going to pull away, but instead Freed’s fingers began to play with his top.

“I…”

“Freed?”

“I want to tell people,” Freed whispered carefully avoiding his gaze, and Bickslow’s eyes widened as hope flooded through him, although he tried his best to keep his expression as even in possible in case he was misunderstanding, but the Rune mage’s next words blew that doubt out of the window. “About us I mean. I want them to know…” Bickslow didn’t think it was possible for the Rune mage to go any redder, and he reached out to grasp the hands that were still nervously playing with his top, squeezing them gently until turquoise eyes finally met his gaze.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…” Freed still looked a little hesitant, and Bickslow sighed, wondering what had prompted this sudden change of mind. He studied the Rune mage for a moment, before reaching up and gently tugging the smaller man down, smiling at the soft oomph that escaped as Freed landed on his chest and he wrapped his arms tightly around him before he could even try to escape. “B-Bickslow?” The Seith mage silenced him by peppering butterfly kisses across flushed cheeks, finishing with a gentle one on the end of Freed’s nose, chuckling as the Rune mage screwed his nose up at the gesture. However, the distraction had clearly worked because Freed had melted against him, nuzzling into the crook of the Bickslow’s neck once the kisses had stopped.

“So what brought this on?” Bickslow asked after a couple of minutes, feeling the slender body tensing and he was relieved when Freed made no effort to escape, although it also seemed as though he had no intention of answering as he had twisted so that he could bury his face against the Seith mage. “Freed?” He prompted, beginning to run his fingers through the long green hair, knowing that it soothed Freed better than anything and after a couple of minutes Freed let out a shuddering sigh before pulling back so that his voice wouldn’t be muffled.

“I could hear people talking in the guild today…”

“About?”

“Asking you out,” there was a slightly darker edge to Freed’s voice now, and Bickslow had to fight back a smile as he caught the possessiveness in the turquoise eyes as he glanced down at the Rune Mage. He was the only one that ever got to see this side of Freed. When they were out in public, the Rune mage always managed to maintain a polite mask although his voice would turn icy when he thought someone was getting too close to the Seith mage. But when they were alone, or in the safety of their house, he got to see the insecurities and the possessive streak that the Rune mage kept hidden beneath that mask and while he would never admit it aloud, that side of Freed reassured him. It was that side of his lover that had kept his doubts at bay whenever Freed had refused to announce their relationship to the guild, as it was impossible to doubt how the younger man felt about him when his eyes were glittering like they were right now. “Ever heard it as well…”

“She teased you about it didn’t she?” It wasn’t really a question, and he was unsurprised when the only answer he received was Freed burrowing closer, and he sighed. Evergreen had been growing more and more impatient with their secrecy, and while they both knew that she would never say anything if they didn’t want it to. She did have a teasing streak a mile wide, and while she was always willing to follow Freed as their Captain in battle, the Rune mage made a perfect target as he never knew how to respond to her teasing. “You know we don’t have to say anything until you’re ready? I’m not going to say yes even if someone did try to ask me out.” Freed growled softly at the mere thought of it, and Bickslow tightened his hold on the Rune mage in the hopes of reassuring him. “And Ever won’t say anything.” As much as he wanted to stride into the guild and declare that Freed was his, he wasn’t going to force the issue.

“I want to,” Freed’s voice was still quiet, but there was underlying steel to it now, and this time he pulled away entirely so that he was hovering over Bickslow once more, and when the Seith mage studied his expression he could find nervousness, but no doubt and his lips curled up in a warm smile.

“Good,” he breathed, heart hammering in his chest at the thought of finally being able to let everyone know that Freed was his, and he reached up to cup Freed’s cheeks pulling the younger man closer once more. “Thank you,” he added softly before leaning up to capture the Rune mage’s lips, deepening the kiss as Freed willingly granted him access, unable to stop himself from grinning into it. _They’re all going to know you’re mine…_

   Clearly Freed wasn’t the only possessive one between them he thought, humming softly when they broke apart and gently tugging the Rune mage back down against his chest and pressing soft kisses into the green hair. Freed was practically purring at the sensation, curling against Bickslow, nudging his nose against the Seith mage’s neck before mumbling sleepily.

“I love you…”

“Yeah, I love you too,” Bickslow murmured, smiling at the sleepy noise of contentment that met his response, unsurprised when Freed’s breathing eased out a few minutes later. It was always the same, whenever Freed was worried about something, he would wind himself up tighter and tighter, and when he finally let on to whatever was bothering him, he would crash a short while later. It was something they had learned to watch for on jobs, as the idiot spent far too much time worrying about every part of the job and their team’s safety. Normally that drove him up the wall, but he doubted that anything was going to put a doubt in his mood tonight, unable to believe that Freed was finally ready to open up to everyone about their relationship. “I love you,” he whispered again as he rested his head against Freed’s, closing his eyes and wondering whether he was even going to be able to get any sleep with the excitement currently coursing through him.

_Thank you…_

****

   Evergreen watched with narrowed eyes as the Seith mage practically bounced into the kitchen the following day, muttering a quick greeting to her before turning his attention to Freed who was stood making them breakfast and moving across to drape himself over the Rune mage’s shoulder. He ignored the muffled protest, and given that Freed hadn’t tried to actually push him away, she could tell that the Rune mage wasn’t actually averse to the attention and her eyes narrowed further. While she was fully aware of their relationship, Freed had a tendency to hide as much as possible from her eyes. Partly because of what she had walked in on one day when they had got carried away, an incident that had given her months of teasing material, but today he seemed to welcome it, at least until Bickslow decided to push slightly too far by swiping his tongue across Freed’s ear, making Freed squeak.

“B-Bix…”

“Yes?” Bickslow asked innocently, only to find himself having to duck a blow from the spatula the Rune mage was holding, and he darted in to press an apologetic kiss to a flushed cheek before beating a retreat to the table to join Evergreen. “Good night?” He asked as he eyed the large mug of coffee she was cradling, something that she only ever drank when she was feeling worse for wear, and she stuck her tongue out at him as she caught the knowing glance.

“Very…” She drawled, gulping a mouthful of coffee and trying not to grimace at the taste before shifting her gaze to Freed. “Looks like you had a good one too?” The Rune mage was still blushing and somewhat flustered, but there was a small smile tugging at his lips, and he was making no effort to gloss over what Bickslow had done like he normally would, and she shot a questioning glance at Bickslow who had settled back in his seat with a smug grin.

“Very…” He mimicked her previous response, and she glowered at him, wincing as his puppets shot into the room a moment later, echoing the word at a volume that was too much for her head and she hissed at him. “Sorry Babies,” he muttered apologetically to them, gently shooing them back out of the room and she let out a relieved sigh as their voices disappeared into the living room.

“Thank you…” She muttered, offering Freed a small smile when he appeared a moment later and set a plate of waffles in front of both of them. Joining them a moment later with his own plate and despite slight nausea from her hangover, she found herself eagerly tucking into the food, fairly sure that she would never be too ill to take advantage of his cooking. It was certainly safer than the days it was Bickslow’s turn to cook. He wasn’t a bad cook exactly, just a little too experimental and when his dolls tried to help…she shuddered at the mere thought of it.

    Hearing a soft sigh, she glanced up, blinking when she realised that Freed was actually sat pressed so tightly against the Seith mage that it would have been impossible to slip a piece of paper between them and Bickslow glanced at her before slinging an arm deliberately around the Rune Mage. The way that Freed glanced at his boyfriend told her that there was something more going on, as there was a faint hint of a smirk playing around his lips and with an exasperated noise she set down her fork.

“All right what’s going on with you two?”

“What do you mean?” Bickslow asked innocently, feigning offence when twin snorts of amusement met his efforts.

“You two are being far too open,” Evergreen pointed out, catching the way Freed squirmed slightly at her words although he made no move to pull away from Bickslow. Which proves my point, she thought victoriously, before glancing pointedly at the arm Bickslow had draped around the Rune mage, his fingers now toying with the ends of Freed’s hair. “You’re never this touchy-feely, not that I’m complaining about the change.” The pair exchanged a look, a silent conversation passing between them and she smiled at the sight, that was something they had already done. A sign in her mind that they had always been meant to be, and so she waited patiently until they turned back to her.

“I decided to take the ‘advice’ you gave me yesterday,” Freed replied, and she blinked, utterly confused for a moment before comprehension dawned. She had been stood at the bar with him as they ordered drinks the previous afternoon when they had heard a group of new members talking about Bickslow and ogling the oblivious Seith mage. It had been clear that Freed had been upset about it and that he was fighting the urge to go and tell them to back off, but his own insistence at keeping their relationship private meant that he couldn’t, and she’d ended up telling him… _‘If you want it to stop, then you need to stop hiding. No one in the guild will give you trouble over it, hell they’ll even throw you a party.”_ Of course, she had teased him a little afterwards, but she was stunned to realise that he had actually listened to her words for once.

“Really? You’re going to tell the guild…?”

   Bickslow nodded, making no effort to hide his grin and she couldn’t help but return it, well aware that he had wanted to tell them for a while. A quick glance at Freed showed that he was quietly determined, although he looked incredibly nervous and she was unsurprised when he pushed his breakfast away a moment later, mostly untouched and fled upstairs muttering something about getting ready. The Seith mage looked like he was going to follow for a moment, but eventually, he shook his head and turned his attention back to his food, unwilling to waste Freed’s cooking.

“So…” She began once she was sure that Freed was upstairs, making Bickslow pause mid-mouthful and she smirked at him as she leant in and asked quietly. “Just how public are you going to make it?” She doubted that the Rune mage would back out at this stage, not now he had seen how happy just the thought of it was making Bickslow, but she also doubted that he would be able to be the one to say it. A thought that Bickslow had clearly considered, as a decidedly wicked grin spread across his face, his gaze flickering to the doorway for a moment before he replied.

“Very…”

**

   Freed had grown visibly more and more nervous the closer they had got to the guild, but he had shaken his head when Bickslow had asked him if he wanted to change his mind and wait a little longer, his mouth set in a stubborn line when the doors came into sight. Evergreen wanted to sigh, unable to understand how someone who could be so confident in the middle of a battle with everything going to hell around them, could be so intimidated by the thought of facing their friends. She knew without a doubt that even those who would be disappointed to learn that both Bickslow and Freed were off the market, would join in the party that she was sure to follow this announcement. It was just going to be getting the announcement to happen, she thought with a slightly mischievous expression as she glanced at Bickslow, well aware that he had an exhibitionist streak a mile wide that was more than ready to come out to play…she just needed to set the stage.

   As they reached the top of the stairs, she moved ahead and pushed the doors open, waiting until she heard them step in behind her before turning her gaze to the rest of the guild, pleased to see that most people were already there.

“Oi!” She called at the top of her voice, well aware that the fact that it was one of the Raijinshuu calling for attention would be enough to get every to notice her, and she ignored Freed frantically hissing questions behind her. Instead, stepping aside with a flourish as she added loudly. “Freed and Bickslow have something to say!” It was clear that Freed had caught onto what she was planning from his frantic whispers, but at her announcement he had fallen silent and now he was stood there, glancing around with wide eyes.

“I…” He began hesitantly, seeing that everyone was staring at them now, highly aware of Bickslow stood beside him. His gaze lingering on the girls that had been talking about the Seith mage the day before as he tried to gather the shreds of his courage. “We…” Damn it why is this so hard? He didn’t doubt how he felt about Bickslow, or how the older man felt about him and he honestly did want to tell the guild, and not just to scare off those girls, but the words just wouldn’t come, and he glanced helplessly at Bickslow, feeling like he might cry as he heard whispers breaking out around them.

   Bickslow had known that Evergreen wouldn’t be able to resist interfering, and to be honest he didn’t really mind what she had done at least from his point of view, especially as he had meant it earlier when he said he wanted to make this very public. However, it was clear that she had just placed the spotlight on the Rune mage, and that Freed wasn’t handling it well. He shot her a quick glare before turning to Freed, unsure of what he was going to do as everyone was watching them at this point and that they were unlikely to forget that something was happening even if they didn’t understand what it was. However, Freed was staring up at him now, a pleading expression on his face and it took a moment for the Seith mage to realise that he wasn’t asking him for help to get out of this, but to actually do it, and warmth flooded through his chest.

   He made sure to hold turquoise eyes as he closed the distance between them, forgetting about their audience for the moment, wanting nothing more than to claim this incredible man and reward him for pushing past his fear. Freed’s eyes widened in comprehension a split second before their lips connected, but he made no attempt to escape, leaning into the kiss although colour blossomed in his cheeks as cheers and wolf-whistles burst out around them as everyone realised what was happening. Evergreen’s squeal rivalling everyone’s for volume, even though she had been in on their relationship from the moment they had both fumbled their way through their conversation.

   Freed felt Bickslow’s arms slipping around his waist, and he clutched his partner as he felt the Seith mage tilting him back slightly, the kiss deepening and he was fairly sure that his face must be matching Erza’s hair for colour at the moment. But there was something strangely liberating about it, and he felt his previous nerves melting away entirely as he responded eagerly. He was unable to stop himself from whining softly when the kiss ended, although he promptly buried his burning face against the Seith mage’s chest as they slowly straightened, his heart hammering in his chest as he realised that they had just kissed rather heatedly in the middle of the guild. And his fingers tightened against his lover’s front, scowling as he heard the soft chuckle from above him.

“Show off…” He muttered without heat, peering up at Bickslow, unable to stop himself from smiling at the sight of the childishly happy grin on the older man’s face. Sighing as he rested his head back against Bickslow chest, and as he felt another kiss being pressed to the top of his head, he decided that maybe once in a while a public display wasn’t such a bad thing. It was that thought that allowed him to gather his courage and peer around at the rest of the guild, being met by broad smiles and cheers and the sight of Makarov dancing on the bar and calling for a party and the warmth that flooded him had him turning his head up towards Bickslow.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” Bickslow replied softly. Stealing another quick kiss before the guild pounced on them, dragging them off into the centre of the celebrations with a smug looking Evergreen close on their heels. And the Seith mage couldn’t keep the triumph of his expression as he wrapped an arm around Freed to make sure that he didn’t lose the Rune mage in the chaos.

_I love you, and now the whole world knows…_


End file.
